Master of Science in Global Innovation Management

Studying Abroad

Today, study abroad is no longer a luxury, but a necessity – not only for future business and political leaders, but for all who want to develop the global competences needed to be successful in their field and to be informed citizens of the world community. Studies show that a period spent abroad greatly enriches students' lives in the acquisition of intercultural skills and self-reliance. Students gain intercultural competence through integration into their host institution and host culture while exploring the international dimensions of their academic field.

First insight.

1. Read the text and analyse different opportunities for study abroad that exist in European universities.

2. Which programme would you be able to participate in?

International Exchanges

Some students travel abroad mainly to improve their language skills, others travel to advance their specialised studies. Still others study abroad because suitable tertiary education is either in short supply or unavailable altogether in their home countries. In addition, in many parts of the world, a foreign degree, especially if earned from certain countries, is honoured more than a local one. But whichever is the reason, the fact cannot be denied: more and more young people choose to study in a foreign country as a part of their university education.

International students are usually divided into two groups: free-movers are students that travel entirely on their own initiative, while programme students use exchange programmes at department, faculty, institution or national level. Most of the universities have official exchange programmes within a network of partner institutions.

A student exchange programme is a programme in which a student chooses to live and study in a foreign country. They are called ‘exchanges’ because originally the goal was an exchange of students between different countries, but now no trade off is actually required. Student exchanges became popular after World War II, and have the aim of helping to increase the participants’ understanding and tolerance of other culture, as well as improving their language skills and broadening their social horizons. Other benefits of exchange may include gaining independence, a personal sense of responsibility and purpose, and a better understanding of homeland. An exchange student typically stays in a host country for a period up to 6 months, which is considered to be a short-term exchange, while long-term exchanges are designed to last six to ten months or up to one full year. There are also study abroad programmes which can last for several years.

Prospective international students are usually required to sit for language tests such as IELTS¹ or TOEFL² (for English-medium education), before they are admitted. These tests measure how adequate is their language ability for the purpose of understanding lectures and seminars, extensive academic reading, and conveying themselves fluently in rapid conversations. Requirements may vary according to a host university, but normally students need a minimum IELTS score of 6.5, or a TOEFL score of 575 (233 in the computer based TOEFL).

Most home institutions award credit for the time spent studying abroad. The expectation is that exchange students will complete the same assessments, assignments and examinations, as full degree students. When they have completed their period of study at a foreign institution, their home university is given a transcript stating the courses they have studied there and the grade they have been awarded. However, it is necessary to check the credit transfer and grade equivalence with the home institution before arriving in a foreign country.

European Union and Academic Mobility

The academic mobility of individuals is gaining on importance on the European and national level. European Union has developed and implements several programmes, such as Erasmus³, Erasmus Mundus⁴ and others, which aim at increasing international mobility and modernising higher education as a whole.

The ERASMUS programme was established in 1987 and forms a major part of the European Union Lifelong Learning Programme⁵. Its aim is to encourage and support academic mobility of higher education students and teachers within the European Union, the European Economic Area countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Norway as well as candidate countries such as Turkey. The programme is named after Erasmus of Rotterdam (1465-1536), a humanist and theologian, known as an opponent of dogmatism, who lived and worked in many places in Europe to expand his knowledge and gain new insights. By leaving his fortune to the University of Basel, he became a pioneer of the mobility grants which now bear his name.

There are currently 3,100 higher education institutions participating in ERASMUS across the 31 countries and 1.9 million students have already taken part. To participate in the programme students must be studying for a degree or diploma at a tertiary-level institution and must have completed their first year. Students who join the ERASMUS study for a period of 3 months to an academic year in another European country. The programme guarantees that the period spent abroad is recognised by their university when they come back.

A main part of the programme is that students do not pay extra tuition fees to the university that they visit. For many university students, the ERASMUS programme offers the chance of living in a foreign country for the first time. For this reason, it has become a real cultural phenomenon, and is very popular among European students, even becoming the subject of some movies. The ERASMUS experience is considered both a time for learning as well as a chance to socialize.

After becoming part of the EU's Lifelong Learning Programme in 2007 Erasmus expanded to cover new areas such as student placements in enterprises, university staff training and teaching for enterprise staff. The programme seeks to expand its mobility actions even further in coming years, with the target of 3 million Erasmus students by 2012.

Another co-operation and mobility initiative in the field of higher education is Erasmus Mundus Programme. It supports European top-quality master’s courses and provides EU-funded scholarships for third-country nationals participating in these master’s courses, as well as scholarships for EU nationals studying in third countries. Usually these scholarships cover such costs as accommodation, board, books and tuition.

More programmes such as, for example, Marie Curie Actions⁶, support research projects carried out jointly by scientists from different countries and provide funding for short-term and long-term international visits with research purposes (research fellowships).

Every year hundreds of international students rely on scholarships awarded by the European Union to help them study in Europe. The competition for grants is very strong. Most grant-making organisations will have some very strict requirements (academic qualifications, class rank or GPA, special eligibility criteria, etc.) and students may have to be nominated by their government to get a scholarship. Generally one must apply for a scholarship at least one year before the course starts. Deadlines vary, so it is necessary to check what the deadline is before submitting an application.

¹ IELTS – the International English Language Testing System, managed by the University of Cambridge, British Council and IDP:IELTS Australia, and designed to assess the language ability of candidates who need to study or work in English-speaking environments. It covers the four language skills – listening, reading, writing and speaking.

² TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language, which measures individual’s ability to communicate in English in colleges and universities; recognised by 6,000 institutions in more than 130 countries, it is the most widely accepted English-language test in the world. The test can be taken either in paper format or via the Internet at accredited testing locations.

³ ERASMUS – EU's flagship education and training programme, supporting student exchanges and co-operation actions between higher education institutions across Europe.

⁴ ERASMUS MUNDUS – an academic mobility programme in the field of postgraduate (master level) education sponsored by the European Commission and open for students both from the EU and third countries.

⁵ European Union Lifelong Learning Programme – a programme that funds education and training initiatives at all life stages (school, vocational, university, adult). It supports mobility of students, teachers and individuals between the countries of the EU, the EEA and EU candidate countries.

⁶ Marie Curie Actions – a European Union programme of financial and organizational support for intra-European and international exchanges of scientists and researchers.

Glossary

tertiary education – higher education, education at the level of college or university // высшее образование

home country – a country of origin of an international/exchange student // родная страна (студента)

international student – a student coming from a foreign country // международный студент

partner institution (university, college, etc.) – an educational institution having an agreement with another institution to organise exchanges of students, teachers and staff between these organisations and recognise the qualification obtained in each of the institutions // организация (университет, колледж)-партнер.

student exchange programme – an arrangement in which students from different countries visit each other in order to study another country’s language, culture, etc. and improve relations // программа студенческого обмена

exchange student – a student participating in an exchange programme // студент по обмену

host country – a country of destination of a student taking part in an exchange programme // принимающая страна

short-term exchange – краткосрочная программа обмена

long-term exchange – долгосрочная программа обмена

study abroad programme – обучение за рубежом

sit for a test (exam, etc.) – to take a test (an exam) // сдавать экзамен

host university – a university, usually in a foreign country, which accepts an international/exchange student for a period of study // принимающий университет

home university – a university in which an international/exchange student partakes a full degree programme of study // основное место учебы

transcript – AmE an official record of the classes that a student has taken and the marks that he or she has received // академическая справка

credit – a successfully completed part of an educational course // зачетный балл, "кредит" – условный балл, начисляемый за прослушивание какого-либо учебного курса в школе или высшем учебном заведении, объем которого составляет обычно один академический час в неделю в течение семестра. Для получения удостоверения о прохождении курса в учебном заведении по какой-либо специальности студент обязан посетить столько курсов, чтобы общее число баллов было не ниже определенного уровня.

credit transfer – зачет баллов, полученных при обучении в другом учебном заведении

grade equivalence – the correspondence of value of grades (marks) earned during studies in a foreign country (sometimes also in a different institution within one country) to those of the home institutions, so that they are counted towards the home degree // эквивалентность оценок

academic mobility – a tendency and ability to move between educational institutions to work or to study // академическая мобильность

mobility grant ( also study abroad scholarship) – financial aid for a programme of study in a foreign country received from a university, a granting institution or government // грант (стипендия) на обучение за рубежом

recognise a period of study, a degree – formally acknowledge the grades and/or qualifications earned by an international/exchange student in a foreign educational institution // зачесть период обучения, официально признавать диплом

tuition fees – money paid for lessons, especially at a college, university, or private school // плата за обучение

student placements in enterprises ( also industrial internship) – производственная студенческая практика, стажировка

staff training – обучение персонала

scholarship – an amount of money given by a school, college, university or other organisation to pay for a person with great ability but little money to study // стипендия, грант

accommodation ( also lodging) – housing // жилье, проживание

board ( also catering) – food provision // питание

research fellowship – an amount of money given to an advanced student for doing research // стипендия на проведение научно-исследовательских работ в университете

GPA – AmE abbreviation for grade point average - a number which is the average mark received for all the courses a student takes and shows how well the student is doing // средний балл (в школе, университете)

eligibility – the state of having the necessary qualities or fulfilling the necessary conditions in order to receive a scholarship, to take part in a programme, etc. // пригодность, обладание необходимыми качествами или характеристиками для получения стипендии, участия в программе и т.д.

apply for a scholarship/a grant – to submit required forms and documents to be deadline – closing date for submission of application, documents, etc. // предельный срок подачи заявлений, документов и т.д.

considered for receiving a scholarship/a grant // претендовать на стипендию

submit an application – представить заявку на рассмотрение

guest researcher – a researcher who lives and works in a foreign country for a limited period of time // приглашенный исследователь

visiting professor – специалист, приглашаемый для чтения цикла лекций в университете

Reading Tasks.

I. Understanding meaning.

1. Choose the best explanation of the sentence “suitable tertiary education is either in short supply or unavailable altogether in their home countries”?

a) higher education programmes in some countries are very short

b) there are very few opportunities for higher education in certain countries

2. In one of the sentences in paragraph 5 exchange students are opposed to ‘full degree students’. Who are these?

a) students taking up a full-time course of study leading to a degree

b) students who plan to study for the whole cycle of degree programmes, from bachelors to masters to PhD

II. Which of these statements are true? Correct the false ones.

1. The main advantage of studying abroad is language learning.
2. International exchange programmes vary in type and length.
3. A general requirement for exchange students is that they have to prove their level of knowledge of a local language.
4. Over three million students have participated in ERASMUS programme as so far.
5. Both undergraduate and postgraduate students can take part in Erasmus Mundus mobility actions.

III. Choose the correct variant to complete the sentence:

1. Study abroad programmes usually last for ___________.

a) 6 months b) up to one year c) several years

2. Normally exchange students in English-speaking countries are required to achieve a score of 6.5 on ___________.

a) TOEFL b) IELTS c) GPA

3. A ___________ states which courses an exchange student has studied at a host university.

a) credit b) grade c) transcript

4. The programme which has become a real cultural phenomenon in Europe is called ___________.

a) ERASMUS b) Lifelong Learning Programme

c) Marie Curie Actions

5. Marie Curie Actions support ___________.

a) top-quality master’s courses b) international research projects

c) student placements in enterprises

IV. Discuss the following questions with a partner:

1. What advantages do academic exchanges offer to their participants?
2. Why is academic mobility important for the development of educational systems?
3. What opportunities for academic mobility exist in your country, in your university?
4. What are, in your opinion, the main obstacles to increasing the academic mobility of individuals in Russia?
5. Have you ever participated in any exchange programme? Discuss your experience.

Vocabulary in Focus.

I. Match the words from the left column with the words from the right column to make up collocations:

1. academic a. institution
2. credit b. recognition
3. mobility c. exchange
4. diploma d. abroad
5. international e. grant
6. exchange f. course
7. study g. programme
8. research h. mobility
9. higher education i. transfer
10. master’s j. fellowship

II. Make up a noun from the verbs given below. In some cases several answers are possible.

to exchange ____________

to recognise ____________

to apply ____________

to choose ____________

to require ____________

to train ____________

to consider ____________

to tolerate ____________

to accredit ____________

to oppose ____________

to host ____________

to participate ____________

Practise composing phrases related to academic mobility with any of the words from each pair.

III. Arrange the following words into two groups: one referring to educational activities and one referring to social experiences of exchange participants.

Host university scholarship cultural phenomenon language learning broader outlook degree recognition language proficiency test independence credit improved communication skills research activities

IV. Give English equivalents to the following Russian words and word combinations.

1. университет-партнер __________________________
2. стипендия на обучение за рубежом __________________________
3. предельный срок __________________________
4. принимающая страна __________________________
5. зачет баллов __________________________
6. программа сотрудничества __________________________
7. критерии пригодности __________________________
8. приобретать опыт __________________________
9. представить заявку на стипендию __________________________
10. расходы на проживание __________________________

Listening to a Dialogue.

I. Paul is a student who would like to go abroad to study and needs to pass the examination. He is phoning British Council Office in his town to find out the information about it. You will listen to this conversation. Before you listen, read the statements and think which of them can be true about IELTS examination. Then listen and check your answers.

1. IELTS tests are all for four language skills but these are all different for the Academic and General Training modules.
2. During the Listening Section you will have the opportunity to hear the recording two times.
3. In Listening you may hear one or two speakers at the same time but never more.
4. In the Writing Module a candidate will work with a chart or diagram and an essay topic.
5. In reading you will use general interest texts but not academic tests from journals, textbooks, etc.
6. The Speaking will be done on the same day as the rest of the examination but it may be some hours later.
7. Task 2 of Writing asks you to support or attack a point of view or present a solution to a problem.
8. You are given 60 minutes to write both tests.
9. If you are a little under 150 or 250 words it doesn’t matter very much.
10. In Speaking you will be given one minute to prepare before each section. You can prepare notes to use while speaking.

II. Listen to the conversation again, sum up the information and tell your partner about IELTS examination.

Analyse It.

I. Read the description of several scholarships available for international students at European universities and fill in the table:

PhD Scholarship - Bioproduction

A PhD scholarship is available within the Centre for Process Analytics and Control Technology in the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials to carry out research in the area of data analysis and predictive modeling as part of a research project developing new technologies for the bio-production of renewable materials (bio-materials).

Candidates should have a first-class or upper-second-class Honours degree, or equivalent, in chemical engineering or a related subject, be able to demonstrate good communication skills and be willing to work for periods of time with collaborating companies and universities across Europe. Due to funding criteria, only students from the EU are eligible for this scholarship.

Closing date for applications: 19th December 2008. Further details can be obtained from Professor Julian Evans ([e-mail]).

Erasmus Mundus Scholarships in Computational Mechanics

Erasmus Mundus Scholarships are available to highly-qualified non-European students with outstanding academic records which will begin the Master of Science in Computational Mechanics in fall 2008. Candidates must hold by fall 2008 a Bachelor of Science in Engineering or in Applied Mathematics, Physics or a similar science based subject, or appropriate degree deemed to be a satisfactory standard for admission (at least 3 years programme). Applicants should qualify as "third-country nationals", as defined in the Erasmus Mundus programme, that is nationals coming from all countries other than the 25 EU Member States, the candidate countries for accession to the EU, and European Economic Area countries.

Candidates will be required to provide: (a) the degree classification, class rank and full academic transcript; (b) the IELTS or similarly internationally recognised English language proficiency score; (c) two letters of recommendation; (d) a statement of purpose, describing their interest in computational mechanics, their personal aims in this field and their preferred areas of specialisation; (e) a complete Curriculum Vitae including additional language skills other than English and any additional information available that may relate to the potential performance of the student in the course.

Scholarships will be awarded for two years. In each of these years, the student will receive a total of 21.000 Euro in 10 monthly grants per year, for a grand total of 42.000 Euro. Tuition fees are 8.000 Euro per year and will be deduced from the scholarship.

Deadline for online application: 8am (GMT) January 31st 2008. Deadline for receiving supporting paper documents at the Master Course admissions office: February 14th 2008.

Master of Science in Global Innovation Management

Four awards of £5,000 towards international tuition fees are available for full-time Masters study within a Masters Programme in Global Innovation Management.

These scholarships are offered on a country-specific basis to applicants from China, India, Turkey and the Middle East. Only nationals of those countries holding offers for a Masters programme starting in October 2009 who have returned their scholarship application by 30 May 2009 will be considered. Applicants will typically be expected to have or expect to obtain a European upper second class degree or a national bachelor’s degree an engineering, science or technology subject with excellent degree marks (applicants should be among the top 10% of their class or have a GPA of 3.5). Applicants need to be fluent in English. Both TOEFL or IELTS are accepted, the latter with band 6.5 and above. TOEFL – depending on type of test, but equally high. German language skills are advantageous.

Students will be selected on the basis of their CVs, study and academic merits, recommendations, language skills (English), etc. Applicants who require pre-sessional English will be considered but will have a lower priority for an award than applicants who meet the University’s English language requirements. Preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate, through their application, the potential to progress to doctoral study.

	Scholarship 1	Scholarship 2	Scholarship 3
Field of study
Degree/qualification to be earned
Language of instruction
Academic requirements
Eligibility criteria
Documents required
Financial conditions
Deadline

II. Now study the profiles of three perspective international students. Which scholarship does each of them qualify for? Why or why not?

Zhang Chun Yu

Home country: China

Educational level: BSc Honours

Field of Study: Mechanical Engineering

Language knowledge: native Chinese, fluent English, basic French

Karen Weber

Home country: Germany

Educational level: MSc

Field of Study: Information Engineering

Language knowledge: native German, proficient in English (TOEFL score - 563)

Isabel Fernandez

Home country: Mexico

Educational level: BSc

Field of Study: Physics

GPA: 3.9

Language knowledge: native Spanish, upper-intermediate English

Дата добавления: 2015-10-23